The Dream

“I Have a Dream …” – who does not know the famous speech by Martin Luther King, with whom he at a protest rally on 28 August 1963, more than 250,000 people on the evils of black people pointed out. As a motto accompanied Luther’s speech, Niels Arden Oplevs new film, The Dream / Drømmen, which returns the Danish director in his own childhood, and tells the story of a rebellious schoolboy.

The summer 1969, spent the 13-year-old Fritz (Janus Dissing Rathke), in the new television. The family lives in the country, the father is a farmer, his mother a nurse. In addition to bicycle tours to the bedridden grandfather’s life provides for the shy boy is not much variety. When the holidays are over, and he attends a new school, Frits is confronted with the authoritarian, violent school principal. His classmates played a trick on the defenseless Frits, for which he must suffer bitterly. Frits is long from head teachers Lindum Svendsen “punished” until he almost lost his ear. Motivated by Martin Luther King’s vision of a better life and greater justice begins in the resistance to Frits autoriätren Director to move. To his side is his new, rebellious music teacher Freddie Svale () Anders W. Berthelsen. When he convinces Frits parents to take action against the headmaster, is a bitter battle for justice.

The 46-year-old director Niels Arden Oplev has realized with the dream / Drømmen a very personal film. About his family drama, he says that it is very strongly influenced by his own memories. Many characters and the main part of the story had its origins in real events and people from his school days. His feature film debut Portland (1996) deals with the violent underground scene in rural northern Denmark. Before and after his second feature film Chop Chop (2001) he made several films and series episodes for Danish television. He has deliberately chosen with the dream / Drømmen for a quieter, more sedate film.

If we compare the dream / Drømmen with Oplevs earlier films, he seems very polite and obedient. Although he makes about the rebellious, they are more like his early films are wild and therefore provocative. The dream / Drømmen is a classic narrative cinema, the audience is pretty much chewed everything. You do not have a lot to worry about the plot, which is unwound as straight on the canvas. The Berlinale 2006, honored him with the Crystal Bear of the children’s film festival and this is when he is right. A forceful family film that keeps the kids in mind that not everything needs to be put up. But I watch it around in the schools of today, or see movies like BucksKnallhart Detlef (2006), it is striking that today the fight no longer against the teachers, but rather against the rival school friend or enemy gangs are played.

With tireless energy and great courage to enforce his will – this dream come true Little Frits. And take a little of it home with them, can harm no one. Just do not forget the tissues!

(Katrin Knauth)

Title: The Dream Original Title: Drømmen Country of production: Denmark, Great Britain Year of production: 2005 Length: 105 (Min) of material: Arsenal Film Distribution

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